Bangladesh showed tremendous resistance with the bat after a top-order failure and ended the Day 3 of the one-off Test against India on 322/6. Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan along with skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and young Mehedi Hasan led the fight back with a lot of grit against the Indian bowlers.

The local fans perhaps did not expect Bangladesh to survive this long. They lost Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah Riyad in the morning session itself. However, soon India began to lose grip as Shakib and Mushfiqur stitched together a 107-run stand for the fifth wicket. While Shakib departed in the lunch session, Rahim stood tall and got a good partner in Mehedi Hasan. The duo safely ensured a smooth end to the day.

A lot of credit obviously goes to Shakib Al Hasan. The left-hander came in when the ball had just started reverse swinging and Kohli was happily watching Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma effectively do their job and build pressure on the underdogs. But Shakib, despite being jerky throughout his stay in the middle, responsibly bailed out his team out of danger and ended up registering his maiden Test fifty against India.

In the post-match interview, Shakib pointed out the difficulties he faced against the Indian bowlers while appreciating the efforts of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehedi Hasan Miraz.

“Obviously it wasn’t easy, Umesh was bowling especially well, moving the ball both ways. I played my shots, it was a good wicket and I felt once you get set it would be difficult for the bowlers to get wickets. Would have been nice to get a hundred, but Mushfiqur played well and Miraz got his first fifty as well,” Shakib Al Hasan said.

“It’s my natural game and I don’t change myself [his getting out giving a catch to mid-on] There will be criticism, but I would love to contribute to the team in my way. Mushfiqur applied himself brilliantly, survived the first 20-30 balls and hit the bad balls away too,” he concluded.